Introducing the Redevelopment of
Harbourside By Mirvac
Mirvac is proud to announce plans to reimagine the Darling Harbour waterfront for the 21st century and create an iconic new precinct in the heart of Sydney. The redevelopment of Harbourside will be defined and characterised by a network of welcoming public open spaces featuring natural materials and vegetation. At its heart, Waterfront Gardens will become Pyrmont’s new neighbourhood park and community meeting place, with landscaping and moments of art and activation planned to deliver an enlivened precinct that provides locals and visitors alike with a powerful sense of belonging, community and ownership.
The existing Harbourside Shopping Centre occupies over 240 metres of water frontage within Sydney’s iconic Darling Harbour precinct. The complex opened in 1988 as part of the renewal of the whole precinct. Mirvac’s vision is to transform the site into a new world class destination for Sydney that provides locals and visitors alike and leaves a legacy for generations to come.
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Planning refinement, Community and Stakeholder Engagement.
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Approved Concept Plan & Demolition.
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Design Excellence Competition winner determined.
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Community and Stakeholder Engagement for SSDA (State Significant Development Application) 1.
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SSDA 1 Lodged- seeking approval for civil works comprising basement retention structures and bulk excavation.
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Community and Stakeholder Engagement for SSDA 2.
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SSDA 2 lodged December 2022.
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Community and Stakeholder Engagement for SSDA 3.
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SSDA 3 lodged in June 2023.
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SSDA No. 03 is still under assessment by DPHI and will be ongoing into early 2024.
SSDA No. 02 was approved 4 December 2023. -
Works have commenced under SSDA No. 02 Main Works.
SSDA No. 03 is still under assessment by DPHI.
What Is Being Delivered As Part Of The Redevelopment of Harbourside?
Mirvac has obtained approval to develop the site into a mixed use development with a maximum total Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 87,000sqm, comprising 42,000 sqm GFA of residential area, and 45,000sqm GFA of office and retail area. This will equate to approximately 24,000 sqm of office space, 7,000 sqm of premium retail space and around 265 luxury apartments within a 42 storey residential tower. The 10,000 sqm of public domain includes a new 3,500 sqm Waterfront Garden, as well as a widened waterfront promenade for the community to visit and enjoy.
What Has Been Approved To Date?
The Harbourside Concept Plan (SSD 7874) was approved on 25 June 2021. This included planning parameters to guide future detailed design and construction, including:
- Demolition of the existing shopping centre building and existing structures on the site
- Maximum building envelopes and heights
- Maximum Gross Floor Area (GFA) floorspace limits of 87,000sqm for the new, comprising 42,000sqm of residential, 45,000sqm of retail and commercial
- Design Guidelines and a Design Excellence Strategy
- Future on-site car parking rates
The stage 2 SSDA for civil works and bulk excavation was approved 02 March 2023. Approval was granted for:
- Slab demolition
- Bulk Excavation works
- Construction of retaining structures to facilitate the redevelopment of the Harbourside Shopping Centre
What Planning Applications To Be Lodged Next And When?
All future development applications are required to be consistent with the Harbourside Concept Plan (SSD 7874) that has already been approved. These will be lodged in a staged fashion as per below
- SSDA 1 for civil works comprising construction of basement retention structure and bulk excavation was lodged in June 2022 and approved 02 March 2023.
- SSDA 2, a detailed application for the construction and operation of the future mixed-use building, including the retail and commercial podium residential tower, and basement was lodged in December 2022.
- SSDA 3, a detailed application for the construction and use of the surrounding public domain, new 'Waterfront Garden', public open space, and pedestrian bridges, was lodged in June 2023.
What Is The Overall Timeframe For The Development (Planning, Demolition, Construction)?
Demolition and civil works have commenced. The overall development is expected to be completed in mid-2027, though we are planning to have some areas of ground floor to be open ahead of this, which will be completed in a staged fashion.
What Steps Have Been Taken To Ensure Design Excellence For The Redevelopment of Harbourside?
A competitive design competition was conducted in late 2021 in accordance with the Design Excellence Strategy approved in The Harbourside Concept Plan (SSD 7874) consent. From a field of six architectural teams, the Snohetta & Hassell partnership, were announced as the winners of this process, in December 2021.
Snøhetta is an internationally renowned architecture practice from Norway, with studios in Oslo, San Francisco, Innsbruck, Paris, Hong Kong, Adelaide and Stockholm.
Hassell is an Australian architecture practice, with local studios in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and internationally in London, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shanghai and Singapore.
More information can be found on our design partners by visiting their websites, snohetta.com and hassellstudio.com
Register for updates
Community feedback is an important part of Mirvac’s commitment to being a good neighbour, and we look forward to staying in touch as the project progresses. To receive community updates, including future consultation activities, please register your interest via our community updates form. For sales and leasing interest, please register your details via our sales updates form.
Mirvac acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters of Australia and we pay our respect to their Elders past and present. We recognise that Darling Harbour is located on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and we thank them for their care and custodianship since time immemorial.
Artwork: ‘Reimagining Country’, created by Riki Salam (Mualgal, Kaurareg, Kuku Yalanji) of We are 27 Creative.